Intense, powerful and passionate about things - that's the Scorpio approach to life. If Scorpio is your Sun sign, then Mars and Pluto, the planets which look after the sign will give you the concentration and strength to make anything that you want to happen, happen. It also makes you a fearsome enemy when control is taken away from you and you feel that somebody else is trying to manipulate your life for you.

If, as a true Scorpio, you could live your life without ever having to compromise your Scorpionic principles, then you would have total power over everybody, know everything there was to know about everybody and their motives, be completely hidden from everybody unless you willed otherwise and strike a mixture of fear and fascination into the hearts of those you choose to meet. The key to this passionate soul is the word power. Scorpios want it. Not the sort of show-off power of status symbols that your friends the Capricorns like, though you understand that very well, nor the physical power that blazes the Aries; what a Scorpio wants is the real stuff - the invisible, string-pulling, controlling sort of power that makes people move when you use it. Therefore the need for control and power are key factors in the Scorpio personality. To many signs, power has to do with the cause and effect of external events. To Scorpio, it has to do with the experience of self and self-mastery. "I will therefore I am" is the core of the Scorpionic scheme of things. To be out of control or to be under someone else's control are deathlike experiences for the classic Scorpionic mind. Scorpio is the sign of death, sex and transformation. Herein lies the divinity and the mystery of this sign, for each of these experiences has deep psychological value, the potential of which is great power.

You are very, very secretive about your true feelings and wherever possible you try to keep them in check. You show feelings which are appropriate to the situation, sure, but your real feelings are a long way behind those and only you know what they are. If you keep your feelings under control, you think to yourself and you know how other people are going to behave, then you will always be in control of the situation. That's how it works most of the time.

Hard work and turning your ambitions into realities are natural to you; once you've decided, then that's it - you get on with it, control the situation and achieve it. This is attributed to Mars - energy in action. If things need changing to meet your requirements, then you rebuild them from their deepest foundations without a second thought. That's Pluto at work - the ability to start again from scratch if need be.

At the end of this you have considerable power and there is nothing you like better than playing with it when you've got it. Scorpio ladies have a reputation of being femme fatales; Mata Hari is the usual quoted example, but Princess Grace of Monaco was a Scorpio too.

Sex has profound power in the Scorpio mind. This influence is vast and psychologically pervasive. Sexually tuned into all circumstances, this awareness can lead to an emotionally intense experience of life. Therefore, Scorpios bear the legacy as the sexual sign of the zodiac. The power of sex is the power of connectedness. Sex can connect all aspects of ourselves - our minds, hearts, souls and sexual organs. Scorpio makes its connections in all kinds of ways and with much intensity. This makes you very attractive to the opposite sex.

Scorpio homes tend to be rather dark and densely furnished. You go for dark colors and for heavy and luxurious fabrics. Your taste in furniture is actually a close match for your taste in clothes: deep, dramatic reds are a frequent choice and so is black.

Scorpio cars are usually impressive. Scorpios are different from other Water signs in that they are more intense, more powerful, more concentrated in every way. Everything a Scorpio stands for is impressively, frighteningly, potent in its effects and of course this intense quality has to be found in the Scorpionic car such as dark, rich colors (red, black) and a car that evokes a powerful, emotional response from people. A car such as a black Porsche 911 with wide wheel arches and a spoiler on the boot. It even looks like a scorpion: black, shiny and menacing. A viper would suit your tastes too.

Scorpio tastes in food are a combination of two factors: being a Water sign and being the astrological influence of the planet Mars. Being a Water sign means that you like your food moist and that you like it rather soft too. All dishes with come with a sauce or some other liquid dressing appeal to you. Smooth-textured food, whether savory like pates and souffles or sweet like cream desserts, is something you like very much. Mars governs all hot or spicy flavorings and any foodstuff which is red in color. This means that you like curry or chili; the flavor is hot, but the texture is soft, the way you like it. Finally, Scorpios drink a lot, as all the Water signs must to keep their body fluids levels correct. Mars' influence gives you a liking for strong spirits, though brandy is usually considered the Scorpionic favorite.

Scorpios have distinct tastes in holidays. You like to go somewhere where there is an element of risk and excitement, where you might get yourself into a bit of an adventure. A holiday involving water sports also attracts you. There are various countries in the world which are associated with the sign of Scorpio. Most of the North African coast is traditionally Scorpionic in character. There is a strong attraction between Scorpios and the Arab culture, which is all to do with the influences of Mars again; you find its passion and mystery very appealing.